<XML><RECORDS><RECORD><REFERENCE_TYPE>31</REFERENCE_TYPE><REFNUM>8900</REFNUM><AUTHORS><AUTHOR>Jakubowska,J.</AUTHOR><AUTHOR>Hunt,E.</AUTHOR><AUTHOR>Chalmers,M.</AUTHOR></AUTHORS><YEAR>2008</YEAR><TITLE>VisGenome with CartoonPlus: a New Scaling Algorithm for Genomics Data</TITLE><PLACE_PUBLISHED>DILS - poster/demo</PLACE_PUBLISHED><PUBLISHER>N/A</PUBLISHER><LABEL>Jakubowska:2008:8900</LABEL><ABSTRACT>Visualisation techniques used in genome browsers are very important, as they support the process of scientific data analysis. However, most genome browsers do not offer much interactivity, and the techniques used are rarely evaluated via user studies. We demonstrate a new scaling technique, CartoonPlus, which improves the visual representation of data, and report on our evaluation in the context of daily tool use.<BR><BR>
CartoonPlus allows the users to see data not only in the original size but also scaled, depending on the data type which is interactively chosen by the users. It offers scaling for all genomic objects, in both single and comparative genome representations. In VisGenome we have chosen genes as the basis for scaling, however, in the future we will give the user the option to choose the basis for scaling. All genes have the same size and all other data is scaled in relationship to genes. Additionally, the algorithm looks at other types of data which are smaller or larger than genes, such as markers, micro array probes, or QTLs, and scales them accordingly.<BR><BR>
CartoonPlus was evaluated via a user study with medical researchers from the British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Research Center at Glasgow. The users applied the algorithm to small genetic data items (SNPs) to see if the objects are in a gene region or not, which is quite difficult to observe when data is represented in its original size.<BR><BR>
We demonstrate VisGenome in the context of QTL comparison in cardiovascular disease research. A typical user will focus on a rat chromosome region and select an area on the human genome which is syntenic to that region. The user can focus on a gene at a time, either in human or in the rat, and drill down to see SNPs. They can also zoom out to see the available QTL information, and to view the latest microarray results from the rat. To improve their understanding of data, the user can then access Ensembl web pages reporting on the item of interest.</ABSTRACT></RECORD></RECORDS></XML>